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Defending the historical and internationally well recognized name of "Persian Gulf" is gaining momentum, especially, among Iranian opponents to the Islamic republic regime and many knowledged Americans who're reacting against "National Geographic Society"'s latest controversial stand and illegitimate publication entitled "2005 World Atlas edition".

Republicans and Monarchist groups, such as, "Marzeporgohar", "Khashm, "Iran's Nation Party" (Hezb e Mellat e Iran) have given hand to hand with independent media and political groups, such as, "NITV", "KRSI", "X-TV", "Azadi TV", "Pars TV", "Jam e Jam Int.'l", "Iranian Jewish Council" and "SMCCDI", in order to keep everyone updated on this unfinished case. "Reza Pahlavi", son of the late Shah, has had even a formal meeting with "John Fahey", President and CEO of the National Geographic Society (NGS), on Friday, in order to protest and defend the name of "Persian Gulf".

Flows of e-mails, faxes and calls along with the persistent boycott and increasing cancellation of subscription to NGS's products, in the US and even in Iran, are among some of these protest actions. Groups are even hiring pro-bono lawyers in order to file suits against the Washington based institution for its desperate try to change the eternal name of "Persian Gulf" and to falsificate the ownership of the three Iranian islands of " Lesser & Greater Tumbs" and "Aboo Moossa".

All are condemning the NGS for having become a lobby group for the "United Arab Emirates" (UAE) and are requesting the formal apology of the NGS and the recall of the falsificated publication.

Hundreds of copies of the World Atlas 2005 have been returned to retailers, such as, Borders, Barnes & Nobles and especially Amazon.com. This way of protest which was promoted by the secularist dissident Marzeporgohar Group, has created many administrative and financial problems for the retailers especially in California, New York and WDC. Marzeporgohar has even created a banner that is attached to the present report for the use of anyone feeling scandalized by NGS's transformation into a lobby group.

It seems that it's in order to limit damages, that www.Amazon.Com , has adopted since few days ago, the unprecedented policy of deleting its customers comments from its usually transparent website. Reports are stating about the deletion of hundreds of negative comments and copies of tens of articles, published by main American and European newspapers and News agencies, which were posted on the comments section of the Web based retailer by its scandalized customers.

For their part, some Iranian, American and European bloggers orchestrated an eye-catching web action on the Google search engine. A search for the words "Arabian Gulf" triggers a spoof message: "The Gulf you are looking for does not exist. Try Persian Gulf." In a parody of the text that usually appears when a webpage does not exist, it advises users to read "some history books".

The amplor and impact of the unprecedented unifying action have been to levels that NGS had to issue, last week, a statement on this open case by recognizing partially its mistake and the primauty of the name of the "Persian Gulf". But still, its management seems to have tried to buy time and to accommodate 'everyone' as it's persisting that the newly created term of "Arabian Gulf" is also valid while being secondary.

The Iranian Diaspora's instigated campaign has even affected some mild and tolerated social groups located inside Iran, such as Pak, which has called on the Islamic republic regime to defend Iran and its Cultural and Historical heritage. The group has wisely criticized non scrupulous Iranian businessmen who are enriching the UAE for their own profit without using of their financial and commercial power in order to protest against this country's illegitimate action and baseless claims. The amount of Iranian money spent in UAE is estimated at over USD18 billions per year.

It's to note that many Iranians doing business in UAE are often corrupt individuals linked to the Islamic regime or its officials. Many of them use the services of some of the few money oriented Los Angeles based satellite TV networks, such as, Iran TV of Hamid Shabkhiz, IPN of Mehran Abd-e-Shah and Tamasha TV of Farzan Deljou. These satellite networks are running UAE-Iran linked or even Iran based businesses advertisements which are often needing a special permit that must be issued by the Islamic regime in order to be broadcasted by any abroad based media.

Many believe that this is the way the Islamic regime uses to keep these networks alive in order to detourn the Iranian youth's attention from hard realities or to promote some of its policies. As an example, a picture showing IPN's head laughing with Kamal Kharazzi the Islamic regime's FM during a dinner gala held in Los Angeles, was distributed by a concurrent. The latter who was a third class singer, in 2000, has become suddenly a very wealthy businessman with big interests in UAE businesses and real estate. Some of the commercial run on his TV omit to mention the word "Persian" while speaking about the "Persian Gulf".

In addition, some of the well known US based apologists of the Islamic regime, such as, the opportunists "Titra Parsi" and "Akbar Ghahary", respectively heads of the so-called "National Iranian American Council" (NIAC) and "Iranian American Political Action Committee" (IAPAC), seems to have found in this case a golden opportunity for face lifting. Following the fiasco they faced with the official end of the so-called "reforms from within" and John Kerry's defeat, they have seized the "Persian Gulf" issue for trying to make a come back and are trying to surf the wave of protest actions by organizing meetings or denouncing the NGS and the UAE. While this type of action can be perceived as noble, it's to be noted that these controversial individuals are well known for playing the nationalistic feelings of Iranians for promoting themselves as interlocutor , vis a vis the US Administration, and to call for dialogue with the Clerical regime. This is what Parsi, head of NIAC which supposedly doesn't intervene in US Foreign policy, did on November 5th by publishing an article in the Daily Star of Lebanon and asking President Bush to establish ties with the Islamic republic regime. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=9888

The unpopular Theocratic regime also has found in the issue a sudden and unprecedented interest in a desperate try to rally Iranians. It has ban NGS reporters and products from Iran and has increased the state controlled media attention to the case.

It's to note that this problem was in reality generated due to the emergence of the Islamic regime itself and to its founder, Rouh Ollah Khomeini, who spread the idea of changing the name of the "Persian Gulf" into "Islamic Gulf". Such idea was later echoed by many of the regime's officials who were trying to rally the Arabs and were fearing the Iranian Nationalism by seeing it as 'pagan' and a danger to the notion of Islamism and its geographical expansion. It's only since few years that due to the increasing popular rejection of the Islamic regime which is also facing an increasing International isolation and fiasco in its ill-policies that the dogmatic clerics have started to adopt a Nationalistic motto with the desperate hope of saving their political role.

To better understand the situation, one must know that Iran or Persia has been officially existing for over 2500 years while the UAE was created in 1971 form the formation of seven little Sheikhdoms. This small region was formerly known as the "Pirates Coast" and was under British mandate following the collapse of the Turkish Ottoman Empire at the issue of the First World War.

The body of water located between the Iranian plateau and the Arabic peninsula is known as "Persian Gulf". In the 1960s, with the rise of Gemal Abdel-Nasser in Egypt and pan-Arab nationalism, some Arab countries helped by some British circles, who were seeking to increase their regional influence, began to try to change its name. However, several UN resolutions are officially recognizing its only name as "Persian Gulf". Even the UAE avoided to formulate its basless claims till the fall of the former Iranian regime.

In the Latin geography books the "Persian Gulf" has been referred to as "More Persicum" or the "Sea of Pars". The Latin term "Sinus Persicus" is equivalent to "Persicher golf" in German, "Golfe Persique" in French, "Golfo Persico" in Italian, "Persidskizalir" in Russian and "Perusha Wan" that all mean "Pars" (Persia).

Prior to the stationing of the Aryan Iranians on Iran's Plateau, the Assyrians named the sea in their inscriptions as the "bitter sea" and this is the oldest name that was used for the "Persian Gulf". An inscription of Darius found in the Suez Canal, used a phrase with a mention of river Pars which points to the same Persian Gulf. The Greek historian Herodotus in his book -History of Herodotus, 440 B.C.- has repeatedly referred to the Red Sea as the "Arab Gulf". Straben, the Greek historian of the second half of the first century BC and the first half of the first century AD wrote: Arabs are living between the Arabian Gulf and the Persian Gulf. Ptolemy, another renowned Greek geographer of the 2nd century has referred to the Red Sea as the "Arabicus Sinus", i.e. the Arabian Gulf. In the book `the world boundaries from the East to the West' which was written in the 4th century Hegira, the Red Sea was dubbed as the Arabian Gulf.

Today, the most common Arabic works refer to the sea in south Iran as the "Persian Gulf", including the world famous Arabic encyclopedia `Al-Monjad' which is the most reliable source in this respect.

There are undeniable legal evidences and documents in confirmation of the genuineness of the term Persian Gulf. From 1507 to 1560 in all the agreements that Portuguese, Spanish, British, Dutch, French and Germans concluded with the Iranian government or in any other political event everywhere there is a mention of the name Persian Gulf.

Even in agreements with the participation of Arabs there is a mention of "Al-Khalij al-Farsi" in the Arabic texts and "Persian Gulf" in English texts, such as the document for the independence of Kuwait which was signed between the emir of Kuwait and representatives of the British government in the Persian Gulf.

The document, which was signed on June 19, 1961 by Abdullah As-Salem As-Sabah, has been registered in the Secretariat of the United Nations according to article 102 of the U.N. Charter and can be invoked at any U.N. office.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the name "Persian Gulf" has been used in geography and history books with less reference to the "Fars Sea". Such a change has suggested the idea that the "Fars Sea" had been an old name substituted by a new term "Persian Gulf".

Besides all the disputes that have been made over the name of the "Persian Gulf", the United Nations with its 22 Arab member countries has on two occasions officially declared the unalterable name of the sea between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula as the Persian Gulf. The first announcement was made through the document UNAD, 311/Qen on March 5, 1971 and the second was UNLA 45.8.2 (C) on August 10, 1984. Moreover, the annual U.N. conference for coordination on the geographical names has emphatically repeated the name "Persian Gulf" each year.

Unfortunately, in addition to several money oriented European governments and news or financial institutions, such as France, UK and Germany or AFP and Reuters, some very few American sources, such as the US Dept. of Navy, are somehow helping UAE in its illegitimate claim. They do think that such policy can force the Islamic republic to comply with their agenda or to be considered as a friendly gesture toward some of their short term allies. But in reality, these very few opportunist or misguided sources are helping the Islamic regime which then plays the well known fear and nationalistic feelings of Iranians by stating that foreign powers are against Iranians and that its downfall can bring the split of Iran or of its islands.

The anger is of the most justified especially by knowing the UN directive of August 18 1994 {94-33224 (E) 180894} Stating: "Attention is once again drawn to editorial directive ST/CS/SER.A/29 and Corr.1 and Add.1 on the use of the term 'Persian Gulf'. The purpose of the present addendum is to urge that care be taken to ensure the appropriate use of this term in documents, publications and statements prepared by the Secretariat. The full term 'Persian Gulf' should be used in every case instead of the shorter term 'Gulf', including in repetitions of the term after its initial use in a text." Or the May 14, 1999 { 99-14427 (E) 200599 UNST/CS/SER.A/29/Rev.1} , which is stipulating the follow: "1. The term 'Persian Gulf' is used in documents, publications and statements emanating from the Secretariat as the standard geographical designation for the sea area between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. The full term 'Persian Gulf' is always used to designate that sea area when it is first referred to in a text and is repeated thereafter whenever necessary for the sake of clarity. 2. The term 'Gulf' is used in documents, publications and statements emanating from the Secretariat to identify or refer to the general geographical area surrounding or adjacent to the sea area referred to in paragraph 1 above or to refer to the situation around that sea area. The terms 'Gulf area', 'Gulf region' and 'Gulf States' are examples of such usage. "

For a better and more referenced, historical and detailed understanding of the issue, read SMCCDI's "Iran's Maritime Boundaries in the 'Persian Gulf' and the case of the three Iranian islands" located in the website's "About Iran" section or at: http://www.daneshjoo.org/article/publish/article_2385.shtml

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Reza Pahlavi of Iran was received, on Friday, December 3rd, by John M. Fahey, Jr., President and CEO, of the National Geographic Society for the purpose of bringing clarity to the issue of National Geographic's recent usage of a secondary name (Arabian Gulf) for the Persian Gulf.

"The meeting with Mr. Fahey was an in depth and thoughtful discussion of the historic and academic facts regarding the Persian Gulf," said Reza Pahlavi of Iran. "It was an opportunity to unequivocally express, on behalf of my compatriots, our unwavering national position on the sole usage of the name Persian Gulf."

"I am pleased to have been reassured by Mr. Fahey that the National Geographic Society recognizes 'Persian Gulf,' as the undisputed historic name of the body of water south of the Iranian plateau," the forty-four year old political leader added.

During the meeting, National Geographic Society CEO, John Fahey, assured Mr. Pahlavi that his organization was respectful and fully cognizant of the level and depth of sentiment among Iranians on the matter, disclosing that his organization was in the midst of an in depth study and reflection on the merits of the use of a secondary name for the Persian Gulf.

Reza Pahlavi, who has been leading a campaign of political defiance against the Theocracy of Iran, is the former Crown Prince of Iran. He is an accomplished jet fighter pilot and graduate of US Air Force training program at the former Reese Air Force Base. Author of Winds of Change, The Future of Democracy in Iran, he is a Political Science graduate of the University of Southern California.

The National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit educational and scientific organizations. Its magazine, the National Geographic, is published in 24 languages with a global circulation spanning every country.